Chapter 5 - Factors
Alert
On Sept. 11, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a decision that allows DHS to resume implementing the Public Charge Ground of Inadmissibility final rule nationwide, including in New York, Connecticut and Vermont. The decision stays the July 29, 2020, injunction, issued during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, that prevented DHS from enforcing the public charge final rule during a national health emergency.
Therefore, we will apply the public charge final rule and related guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual, Volumes 2, 8 and 12, to all applications and petitions postmarked (or submitted electronically) on or after Feb. 24, 2020. If you send your application or petition by commercial courier (for example, UPS, FedEx, or DHL), we will use the date on the courier receipt as the postmark date.
For information about the relevant court decisions, please see the public charge injunction webpage.
An officer must consider the following set of factors when determining whether an applicant is more likely than not to become a public charge at any time in the future:[1]
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The applicant’s age;
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The applicant’s health;
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The applicant’s family status;
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The applicant’s assets, resources, and financial status;
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The applicant’s education and skills;
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The applicant’s prospective immigration status and expected period of admission;
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A sufficient Affidavit of Support Under Section 213A of the INA (Form I-864), when required; and
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The presence of heavily weighted positive and negative factors.
A. Evidence
An applicant must submit evidence relevant to each factor to establish that, in the totality of his or her circumstances, he or she is not more likely than not to become a public charge at any time in the future.
B. Declaration of Self-Sufficiency (Form I-944)
Applications for adjustment of status postmarked (or, if applicable, submitted electronically) on or after 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time on February 24, 2020, which are subject to the public charge inadmissibility ground, must contain a Declaration of Self-Sufficiency (Form I-944), submitted in accordance with the form’s instructions.[2] Form I-944 collects the information necessary to address certain factors that officers must consider when determining whether an alien is more likely than not to become a public charge in the future.
An applicant who is required to submit Form I-944 but fails to do so cannot meet his or her burden to establish that he or she is not inadmissible on account of the public charge ground of inadmissibility and is therefore ineligible for adjustment of status.[3]
In conjunction with Form I-944, officers must also review information from the Application to Register Permanent Residence and Adjust Status (Form I-485), Report of Medical Examination and Vaccination Record (Form I-693), and Form I-864, when required, in making the public charge inadmissibility determination.
Footnotes
[^ 1] See INA 212(a)(4)(B). See 8 CFR 212.22(b).
[^ 2] See 8 CFR 212.20 through 8 CFR 212.23 and 8 CFR 213.1. USCIS implemented the rule at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time on February 24, 2020. See 84 FR 41292 (PDF) (Aug. 14, 2019) (final rule), as amended by 84 FR 52357 (PDF) (Oct. 2, 2019) (final rule; correction). For applications and petitions that are sent by commercial courier (for example, UPS, FedEx, DHL), the postmark date is the date reflected on the courier receipt.